Contrary to popular belief, the evaluation of writing is not subjective. All good writing possesses certain traits. It is clear and articulate, presents complex, thoughtful ideas in an original yet convincing manner, demonstrates a keen awareness of audience and purpose, and reveals a strong personal voice. These are just some the criteria I use when evaluating your writing. In no way is the grade you earn a reflection of how I feel about you as a person. My job is to assess and evaluate your work honestly for the purpose of helping you to grow as a reader, writer, and thinker. Therefore, your work will be graded according to its intellectual, analytical, and stylistic merit.
Course Objectives . . .
Upon completion of the course, you should be able to:
analyze and interpret samples of exemplary writing by identifying and explaining the author’s use of literary elements and devices;
apply effective strategies and techniques to your own writing;
create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience;
demonstrate an understanding of and the ability to use standard written English (proper grammar and usage);
demonstrate your ability to follow the MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines when citing and documenting texts;
produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce a clear central idea and develop it with appropriate, specific evidence, cogent explanations, and clear transitions; and
move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and reflection.
Your concluding paragraph should provide closure without simply repeating what you’ve already written. In other words, it should provide the reader with a sense of completion without making the reader want to shout, “You’ve said that already!” Too much summation is irritating, while too little can leave the reader asking, “So what?” Because your conclusion must grow out of the rest of your essay, there is no one right way to achieve this balance. A good ending depends upon what comes before it.
Nevertheless, here are some guidelines for writing conclusions:
Keep the ending proportional in length to the essay as a whole. In other words, a 250 word essay may have a conclusion of 2-3 sentences, while a 2,500 word essay may have an ending that is a few paragraphs long.
Try to summarize, but add a new twist. What have you learned, or what do you hope your reader has learned, by the end of the essay? How does this knowledge affect you or your reader?
These are just a couple of many of the questions you should consider when writing your conclusion. Below are suggestions for different types of conclusions that will help you achieve your goal of writing a polished, effective conclusion to your essay.
Question Conclusion: Ask a question that provides the reader with food for thought, or ask a rhetorical question—one that does not require an answer from the reader—that makes clear your point of view.
“Living with music today we find Mozart and Ellington, Kirsten Flagstad and Chippie Hill, William Dawson and Carl Orff all forming part of our regular fare. For all exalt life in rhythm and melody; all add to its significance. Perhaps in the swift change of American society in which the meanings of one’s origins are so quickly lost, one of the chief values in living with music lies in its power to give us an orientation in time. In doing so, it gives significance to all those indefinable aspects of experience which nevertheless help to make us what we are. In the swift whirl of time music is a constant, reminding us of what we were and of that toward which we aspired. Art thou troubled? Music will not only calm, it will ennoble thee.”
“Living with Music” – Ralph Ellison
“Living with music today we find Mozart and Ellington, Kirsten Flagstad and Chippie Hill, William Dawson and Carl Orff all forming part of our regular fare. For all exalt life in rhythm and melody; all add to its significance. Perhaps in the swift change of American society in which the meanings of one’s origins are so quickly lost, one of the chief values in living with music lies in its power to give us an orientation in time. In doing so, it gives significance to all those indefinable aspects of experience which nevertheless help to make us what we are. In the swift whirl of time music is a constant, reminding us of what we were and of that toward which we aspired. Art thou troubled? Music will not only calm, it will ennoble thee.”
Course Objectives . . .
Upon completion of the course, you should be able to:
Wrapping It Up: Writing Conclusions
Your concluding paragraph should provide closure without simply repeating what you’ve already written. In other words, it should provide the reader with a sense of completion without making the reader want to shout, “You’ve said that already!” Too much summation is irritating, while too little can leave the reader asking, “So what?” Because your conclusion must grow out of the rest of your essay, there is no one right way to achieve this balance. A good ending depends upon what comes before it.
Nevertheless, here are some guidelines for writing conclusions:
These are just a couple of many of the questions you should consider when writing your conclusion. Below are suggestions for different types of conclusions that will help you achieve your goal of writing a polished, effective conclusion to your essay.
“Living with music today we find Mozart and Ellington, Kirsten Flagstad and Chippie Hill, William Dawson and Carl Orff all forming part of our regular fare. For all exalt life in rhythm and melody; all add to its significance. Perhaps in the swift change of American society in which the meanings of one’s origins are so quickly lost, one of the chief values in living with music lies in its power to give us an orientation in time. In doing so, it gives significance to all those indefinable aspects of experience which nevertheless help to make us what we are. In the swift whirl of time music is a constant, reminding us of what we were and of that toward which we aspired. Art thou troubled? Music will not only calm, it will ennoble thee.”
“Living with Music” – Ralph Ellison
“Living with music today we find Mozart and Ellington, Kirsten Flagstad and Chippie Hill, William Dawson and Carl Orff all forming part of our regular fare. For all exalt life in rhythm and melody; all add to its significance. Perhaps in the swift change of American society in which the meanings of one’s origins are so quickly lost, one of the chief values in living with music lies in its power to give us an orientation in time. In doing so, it gives significance to all those indefinable aspects of experience which nevertheless help to make us what we are. In the swift whirl of time music is a constant, reminding us of what we were and of that toward which we aspired. Art thou troubled? Music will not only calm, it will ennoble thee.”
“Living with Music” – Ralph Ellison
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